The Burns Memorial at Ayr is considered to be one of the finest depictions of Scotland's national poet. Standing firmly on his left leg, his
face is chiselled with a meditative expression. The statue is placed with Burns gazing reflectively toward the place of his birth, Alloway, a
few miles distant. The bronze is a colossal size and is set on a pedestal of Aberdeen granite. The statue, cast by Moore and sons, was
unveiled by Sir Archibald Campbell (Lord Blythswood), Grand Master Mason of Scotland, on July 8th, 1891. Bronze panels depicting
scenes from Burns' life have since been added to the pedestal. Lawson's memorial was also applauded on a national scale to the extent that
replicas were erected in Melbourne on the 23rd January 1904, Detroit on the 23rd July 1921, Vancouver on the 25th August 1928,
Montreal on the 18th October 1930, and Winnipeg in 1936. [Continued below]

Robert Bowman has most generously given permission to use in the Victorian Web information, images, and text from his catalogues. The copyright on text and images from these catalogues remains, of course, with him. Readers should consult the website of the Robert Bowman Gallery to obtain information about recent exhibitions and to order catalogues. [GPL]

The present version of Robbie Burns is a rare bronze reduction of the monument at Ayr, cast by the Thames Ditton Foundry of James Moore,
the same foundry that cast the actual monument. The foundry was originally started by Cox and Sons and was then taken over by Drew
and Company, becoming James Moore in 1883. James Moore, who along with Herbert Singer was the only founder to receive the honour
of becoming a member of the Art Workers Guild before 1910, cast many important works. The foundry was taken over by Hollinshead
and Burton becoming A. B. Burton in 1897, so the present cast must have been cast before this date. A smaller version standing 14 inches
high was cast in France by the Susse Frere foundry. This bronze edition became a popular acquisition amongst the intellectual community
of Scotland as well as visiting learned Americans to whom Burns was regarded as a prophet.